Florida offers a JUCO CB

The Florida Gators recently lost two cornerbacks to decommitments, but last Friday the Gators extended an offer to anther cornerback in the class.

That prospect was JUCO cornerback Justin Martin (6-2, 191, Miami, OK Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) who is originally from Tennessee but he spoke to defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson about the Florida offer.

“Coach T-Rob offered me over the phone on Friday,” Martin said. “He said that I have everything that Florida is looking for in a corner and that he wants me apart of what they are building at Florida.”

Usually, Will Muschamp is the coach that hands out offers for Florida, but he was busy with Friday Night Lights on Friday. Muschamp did make time to speak to Martin and expressed his want for the corner.

“I called Coach Muschamp this week to just talk with him about Florida,” Martin said. “He repeated what coach T-Rob said and said that I would be successful at Florida and that he hopes I join the Gators.”

Martin was scheduled to visit Florida on Friday for the camp but — due to NCAA rules — wasn’t able to visit. He does, however, plan to return to Gainesville this winter for a visit.

“I’m going to take an official to Florida in December,” Martin said. “I’m going to make my decision in late December so I want to take officials to Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU before I decide.”

The JUCO cornerback has seen his recruitment blow up recently so he’s still open to everyone but he says that three schools are standing out to him.

“Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee are my unofficial top three,” Martin said. “Everyone is really recruiting me the same right now. LSU just offered me on Saturday so they are in the mix too.”

Most JUCO players enroll in school in January but Martin isn’t able to. Unlike most JUCO transfers, Martin will have three years of eligibility when he transfers into a school.

“I’m not able to enroll in school until May,” Martin said. “But I have four years to play three so I still have my redshirt year left.”

 

INSIDER TAKE: Martin didn’t have LSU in his top three but he had a different tone to his voice when he spoke about the Tigers. I think Florida is definitely in the mix here but also think it will be tough for Florida to land him due to the depth already on the team at the cornerback position.

 

For more Florida Gators recruiting news from Andrew Spivey join Gator Country today.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

1 COMMENT

  1. I am surprised that UF wants a JUCO corner. I know most of the corners currently in school have little to no experience, but it sounds like the coaches think they have some keepers in the group. I would have thought that if UF was going to take any JUCo’s, that they would be linemen. On either side of the ball, the Gators will have players either graduate, or in the case of Dante Fowler, leave early. Unlike defensive backs, the coaches don’t sound confident in the depth on either line, and they need people that are ready to play immediately in 2015.